By Mea Donnelly
Starting from the beginning of time, the Irish were harshly discriminated against. It continued that way when we moved the United States, even more so. People just simply didn’t want to be Irish, but every year, one day everyone decides being Irish is suddenly really cool.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that a holiday that celebrates my heritage gets so much coverage, but some go about it the wrong way. The American St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in a way that doesn’t do us Irish much good. The Irish get depicted as lazy, obnoxious drunks that people suddenly try and emulate. Let me tell you, it is very annoying. Being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day is nowhere near the treat everyone thinks it is. Boys get creepy—just because I am Irish and my kiss is pretty magical doesn’t mean you should go out of your way in a stereotypical “Kiss me, I’m Irish” way to do such—and people act differently towards you. They wear your country’s flag out or try and make every single thing possible green—green beer? C’mon—even if they aren’t a tad Irish.
The worst is those who try and do whatever they can to seem Irish. But, trust me, it’s not working, and no one is being fooled because us Irish aren’t just drunks, we are loud witty interesting drunks. Luckily at UIUC, we have Unofficial. We have made the annoying and almost insulting part of St. Patrick’s Day its own holiday, and to that I thank you. Everyone gets to have their fun, which even the Irish can enjoy, while getting to spend the real day eating soda bread, corn beef and even cabbage. The Irish are truly lucky people to have gone through and survived everything that they have and it is great that America celebrates that. But it is really nice to have a true Irish St. Patrick’s Day while getting Unofficial to do it the UIUC way.
________
*Image Sources:
The Spread 